MDMC01

I had a great time yesterday! I-Street looks great; I like the flags (as a nod to the past) as well as how open the walkways feel. Also, the different color umbrellas (based on the building they are near?) was a nice touch. I actually did not see the Glockenspiel show work, but I did see the figures stationary outside of the Festhaus. The fountains were nice at first, but they seemed a bit much at night. Also, due to weather, the three Arrows (Vortex/Adventure Express/Bat) were all closed, which was unfortunate as it felt like something was missing from the day. On a positive note, I had some great rides on Flight of Fear, Mystic and Banshee (which I no longer have to pay for as all my belongings now fit into my cargo shorts!) and really enjoyed being in the park again. I did ride Antique Autos first thing and loved it! I love the references to older rides/areas of the park and I think my favorite is Finally, Invertigo did get a new train, courtesy of Stinger (from Dorney Park), which was formally Invertigo at Great America. The green looks really nice and I loved riding a piece of 90's history (actually, the trip forward was great (ectasy) and the return trip (backwards) was headbanging agony). I just wished they painted the track Yellow again to match the new train (as the supports are already Blue.

Last Night/This Morning I had a dream that we were getting both a Giga and a Dive Coaster. The Dive coaster was to be dragon themed (the dragon in the teaser video in the dream looked like Spyro the Dragon). I went outside (in the dream, "outside" was like a Roller Coaster Tycoon/No Limits kind of world and it was a very plain, green map) and saw a dive coaster and was excited that it was finished (but not yet open), but it was only Valravn (which had a bit different layout and was across from Steel Vengeance for some reason).

That's the one @McSalsa!

To me, The Beast is a classic, unique wooden coaster. You definitely know it's summer when you smell the grease coming from both Beast and Racer! Hard to believe its turning 40 this year. I do have a few stories to share about Beast: the first being there was this one night where the park was open for midnight close and I got some surreal foggy rides on both Vortex and Beast. Going up the second lift was especially cool as I could only see those two lights at the top of the hill. Taken from my trip report from that day in 2014, I wrote this: "The second lift was especially memorable, where all you could see was the darkness of the forest, coaster track and 2 headlights at the top of the lift. All I could think of was: “Are we even on planet Earth?” Yeah, it was pretty cool! Also, there was that one time where @XGatorHead 8904 and I missed the group picture one Closing Day as we were riding Beast. I remembered on the second lift as it was 1:04 (and IIRC, the group pic was at 1). Finally, I remember singing the bridge from Linkin Park's 'Place for my Head" as the train crests the second lift and gradually gets faster while headed for the double helix. Speaking of the double helix, when riding over the past two seasons, I get major Son of Beast (and one time Legend?) vibes when coming out of the first double helix tunnel. To summarize, Beast is a classic mainstay that is still a good ride after all these years. EDIT: A few more things: Though I don't remember my very first Beast ride, I do remember watching a roller coaster video (VHS) that had an on ride POV of Beast (among other coasters) on it, so I knew exactly what was in the woods. Also, for all the time I've spent working/being at the park, I've never had a Beast tour. Yeah, I've been driven by Beast as an employee (on the way to the pumphouse), but I've never been on a Beat tour and would love to go. I'm sure there will be plenty considering it's the 40th anniversary. Also, I have never ridden the ride twice in a row, either because of the line or otherwise (I know you are no longer allowed to stay on the train, but still...).

What a fun and interesting read!

To join in on the restraints discussion, the worst coaster restraints I've ever experienced were on Skyrush. For comparison, Millennium Force's T-Bar works, but Skyrush's restraints made the ride super painful on my theighs. If the restraints were changed, I'm sure I'd have a much more positive opinion on the coaster. Anyone (on here lol) know why those specific restraints were used (and apparently continue to be used- IIRC, Flying Aces (in Dubai) is a newer Intamin coaster with those same restraints)?

I'd like to see speed and ejector air. Alao, an inversion like a barrel roll would be interesting, but not mandatory.

I was actually just saying at work tonight... I'm sure Blue Racer will be getting an increased ridership this year, just as WindSeeker did for Antique Autos construction and like the Train did for Mystic Timbers construction (also for getting that distance for Pokemon Go ).

H2Overdrive is one of my favorite KI Arcade games, besides Skeeball. H2Overdrive is a watercraft racing game that is really cool. One of the boats reminds me of Top Thrill Dragster, so I typically pick that one. Apparently, you can enter a pin to save your place for next time (as you can apparently upgrade your vehicle...), but I've never seen a PIN onscreen (I know there is a place to dial a PIN in, though). Unfortunately, it suffers from downtime, which is unfortunate. Funny enough, it was one of these downtimes that made intrigued to play the game as I could see its OS (Operating System) during start-up. It's located in Coney Arcade and actually contains 2 machines so you can race another person (I've actually never seen this happen, though, one reason being that one side may be down). Fun Fact: The game actually crashed/shut down on me while I was playing; it was actually kinda cool in a way! In addition to H2Overdrive, I enjoy Skeeball, Scrambler (a game where you hit a button to stop a light and wherever the light stops is how many points you get) and there was a time I enjoyed Guitar Hero in Beast Arcade.

We know the 11th Commandment pertains to Adventure Express; what are 12-20, then?

Unique is defintely a word to describe this thing. -MDMC, not a fan. Also, for tips, when you all go, I recommend getting the all-day locker. It's only $10 and it "travels" with you from ride to ride. Here's how it works: Let's say you want to make Valravn your first ride of the day. Before riding, you buy a locker like normal and then enter a special code that you'll use throughout the day. After you are done riding to your heart's content, you can check out of this locker and then head to your next ride(for example, Rougarou). Once you get to Rougarou, you can enter the code and if a free locker is available, you will be assigned a new locker over there. It's a great system. And yes, visiting on a weekday is strongly encouraged! That's actually a great rule of thumb for heading to any theme park (unless you go to your local theme park multiple times a season and get used to the crowds OR you are going to take advatange of Fast Lane). Finally, have a good time and let us know what you think of the coasters. My Top 5 list at CP is Steel Vengeance, Valravn, Wicked Twister, Maverick and Rougarou.

I started out at It's Fried (which was then called Midway Treats and Eats and Coney Potato Works before being demo'd for Coney BBQ)/St.. Funnel (Funnel Cake stand on I-Street, I got sent to either location) my first and part of my 2nd year before going to Festhaus. During my time in Foods, I did get moved a lot of places, such as Stunt Crew Grille, Carts (specifically, Nickelodeon and Action Zone Carts),Rivertown LaRosas and Coney Subway. I just thought of a few stories to share... when I was pulled to Stunt Crew Grille (now Chicken Shack), I learned that if you put a cold patty on the grill and hit it, a huge flame shot up! That was both cool and terrifying. Also, Carts is not fun as you are on your own little island and you have to wait for people to check on you to restock, give more cash, etc (unlike in a regular food place where there is usually a manager or co-worker nearby). Speaking of carts, the one day I was at Action Zone carts, I was in front of Days of Thunder (for those who don't remember, this go-kart ride was about where Banshee's queue line currently is) and I remember people not following the rules and crashing. It was funny watching cars get seperated when they crashed. EDIT: I also remember seeing Son of Beast testing one day all the way from Midway Treats and Eats (I was really excited as I think this was one of the times that it was closed for an extended period of time).

Alright, I'll chime in. As it says in my About Me section, I've worked at the park for 10 seasons, both in Food and in Park Services. While Food was a good start (as it was my first real job), I enjoyed Park Services much, much more. One story that comes to mind is this: I was cleaning up Coney Mall (specifically on the pathway near Shake, Rattle and Roll/Jukebox Diner) after it had recently rained and was having trouble trying to figure out where all the rainwater was supposed to go. So, the guy who was (at the time) over all of Park Services came and helped me correctly get the water into the nearest drain (IIRC). I thought this was a really cool example of servant leadership. Also, every once in a while, I was taken behind the scenes and got to see some really cool stuff, including some Wild Animal Safari remnants. EDIT: I also got to be in an employee training video, cleaning up ice cream in Action Zone.

Well, we have a name at least... I can see it now... "Coming in 2021, it's Gigabar, the 345 ft. tall coaster with an 85 degree first drop, that sets the bar for other coasters to follow. This coaster races along 6,392 ft of track at speeds of up to 91 mph. Gigabar... Set the Bar!" #setthebar -MDMC, letting his imagination run wild!

Wow! To quote Josh Groban's Believe (sung by Tinker in Tinker's Toy Factory) "There's so much to celebrate". They are really stepping it up with all these "little" improvements that will surely make a big impact on the overall experience. Makes me wonder what "little" improvement will be announced next! I'm sure this site will be hoppin' come Opening Day with all the excitement about any new surprises the park might have in store!

Want! I'll be getting the Haunt and SOB Pins. -MDMC, avoiding a one-word post.

This sounds awesome! While reading, it sounds like a Disney type of thing. I'm glad we are getting unique entertainment offerings outside Winterfest.

The Lineup looks good this year. Good to see they are utilizing the "new" Peanuts Showplace for Space Beagle. Also, I'll probably check out that country show at least once because it's about the 90's; wonder if it'll feature a live band like last year. Totally 80's sounds like the other 80's shows they've had in the past. Finally, Gravity (Gravity, Gravity) is back. I wonder if the storyline will be different this year and/or if we'll see any new acts.

We typically do have a KIC Haunt meetup. -MDMC, who knows a few of the monsters

When I read this, I immediatly thought of my friend who is into craft beer, but at the same time, I'm interested in that bread. Also, I wonder if the bar area from Reds will stick around... I've really enjoyed getting some water and taking a breather from all the rides and walking around.

You know the Off Season is coming to a close when rides are testing and an Opening Day meetup thread appears. 29 days...

If the track was somehow used to reference Firehawk the way that the eternal flame in Banshee's queue references Son of Beast, that would be a cool tribute. What I loved most about Firehawk when it was around was that it stood as a relic from the early 2000's, like still having a working Windows XP computer. Even when I couldn't ride it anymore, it was still cool to look at through a historical lens (I also realized how compact the layout was). I'm also interested to see that area now that Flight of Fear is once again the sole coaster back there. 29 more days...

Agreed! I also love Wicked Twister's theme song (they play it in the station just as Millennium Force's is) ...Which now begs the question... does Valravn have a theme song? I think both Maverick and Steel Vengeance both do.

Forgot about Kumba lol. Yeah, that would be a B&M sitdown looper.

Whoops... my bad Also, continuing the conversation, a standard looping coaster from B&M would be interesting as there aren't many around (I can only think of 4 off the top of my head- Wildfire, Hulk, Dragon Khan and whatever the former Led Zeppelin coaster is now called). Aside from.a Giga, I'd love KI to get a Floorless and a Dive Coaster.